Employee: Boyce and Bynum workers ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ over layoffs
Employees of a Columbia-based lab company are unsure who will lose their jobs when the company is purchased by Quest Diagnostics early next year, one worker said Wednesday.
The Boyce and Bynum employee didn’t want to be identified because of anticipated layoffs, but said the company didn’t tell workers right away that jobs may be cut. Quest, a publicly traded company with 45,000 employees, announced its plans to acquire Boyce and Bynum Pathological Laboratories last week. Boyce and Bynum in a required filing with state regulators said it expects 177 employees to be laid off.
“They just said there would be some opportunities to apply with Quest,” the employee said.
In a statement, Boyce and Bynum said it made the decision to cut almost 200 jobs “after reviewing our options in a challenging healthcare landscape.”
The Department of Economic Development’s Division of Workforce Development has contacted local leadership for Boyce and Bynum to offer employees transition assistance.
Some of those services can include connecting employees with current job openings, conducting employee assistance meetings and presenting unemployment insurance information.
The department also has numerous job centers in mid-Missouri, including Columbia, Jefferson City, Fulton and Mexico.
Boyce and Bynum, as well as Quest, did not respond to requests from ABC 17 News to find out what assistance or opportunities current employees will have.
